Italy

Italy's attractions are well known and impressive in both quality and quantity. But if you're looking for more than a superficial understanding of this rich and varied country, the sites below provide detailed information about its cities, landscapes, and culture. You'll also learn how to get there, where to stay, and what your fellow travelers were inspired to share about their Italian journeys.

Most people don't need to be told why Italy is worth visiting. However, the following sites provide a useful overview for anyone wanting a taste of la dolce vita, including the country's most beautiful cities and regions, and of course, the cuisine.

August is the month when Italians go on vacation, and (for understandable reasons) most of them stay within their national borders. Hotels fill up and many shops and restaurants close. Plan your trip for another month if you can.

Venice is high up on many a traveler's to-do list. However, central Venice gets very crowded in the summer. Because its architecture, galleries, and romantic ambiance aren't dependent on the seasons for their appeal, consider visiting at another time of year. (Some canals get a little pungent in the summer heat, which is another reason to go in the off-season.)

In pricey restaurants, you ought to leave the kind of tip that's customary in America: around 15-20 percent of the check. But the staff in less costly establishments won't expect a gratuity.

The Rome City Break Feature in our Netcetera section covers the attractions of Italy's capital, providing the resources you need to make the most of the Eternal City.

The New York Times
dedicates a section of its Web site to Italy, which is also linked to pages from the Frommer's travel guide. Articles from the newspaper focus on particular regions, and there are also more general guides to the country.

The Washington Post
carries articles on various aspects of vacationing in Italy. Some are most likely to appeal to the armchair traveler, such as the piece on renting a cottage on the steep cliffs of the Amalfi Coast. But other pieces are of more general interest, such as a guide to budget dining in Rome.

Fodor's
is reputedly the world's largest publisher of travel guides. Its pages on Italy are unpretentious, easy to navigate, and cover most regions (with the exception of Puglia and Sardinia). With more than 700 writers across the planet, the recommendations supplied here should be reliable. You'll also find maps and weather reports for your chosen destination.

TimeOut
City Guides generally place a greater emphasis on nightlife than history and culture, reflecting the interests of its hip, young readership. There are guides linked to here for all of the major Italian cities, and the sightseeing information and event calendar are useful.

ItalyGuides.it
provides glimpses of the country that are likely to leave you slavering for the real thing. Rome, Venice, Florence, Pisa, Siena, Naples, and Sicily are profiled with 360-degree, all-angles interactive photography that allows you to scan the most famous and beautiful locations. Plus, there are free audio guides that you can download to an mp3 player, such as an iPod. The Venice section is particularly impressive.

Dream of Italy
is a carefully crafted subscription newsletter that offers expert advice for travelers to Italy, covering destinations, hotels, restaurants and events you won't find in a typical guidebook. Free articles are available on the site.

National Geographic Traveler
provides a "trip planner" for Florence, a concise, one-page guide to the city covering restaurants, cafés, and accommodation as well as the most popular tourist attractions.

The Uffizi Gallery
in Florence is home to Carravaggio's Bacchus and Botticelli's Venus, two of the most famous works of the Italian Renaissance. Even if you can't identify these pieces by name, you won't fail to recognize them from a photo ... or up close.

Travel + Leisure
readers voted Florence the world's best city in a 2007 poll. The magazine naturally includes a guide to Tuscany and its capital that covers the whole gamut of high-end establishments, from the luxurious to the merely very comfortable.

The Los Angeles Times
publishes a long story, dating from February 2007, about a journalist's exploration of the Puglia region in southern Italy--the heel of the peninsula's boot. Puglia has been relatively unexplored by tourists, and is increasingly feted as a holiday destination. There are also links to the area's B&Bs and an advice page for Americans going to Puglia.

The Guardian
reports that the Amalfi Coast, south of Naples, "can claim to be Europe's most magnificent stretch of coast." Amalfi is a winding length of cliff face on which villages perch at vertiginous angles. It's normally considered a resort for Europe's richest, but The Guardian offers tips on how to enjoy the region's movie-set scenery without busting the bank.

ItalyGuides.it
has a particularly impressive section on Venice. Take a virtual tour using interactive photos and a downloadable audio guide. If you thought the floating museum that is Venice had no appeal for you, this may make you think again.

The Independent
sent a restaurant critic over the length of Italy on a tour of regional cuisine. The resultant article covers everything from the heavy polenta-and-steak dishes of the north to the simpler, lighter pasta dishes and rich olive oils of the south. A number of restaurant recommendations are included.

Osterie & Locande D'Italia
is a "guide to traditional places to eat and stay in Italy" (in English, the title is "Restaurants and Inns of Italy"). Compiled by Italy's Slow Food Movement, this book is an insider's take on Italian dining, written by chefs and culinary experts. At almost $30, it's not cheap, but contains profiles of more than 2,000 establishments that satisfied picky native authors.